#43: THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

1

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, but not as an adult, so probably about 30 years ago

BEST SEQUENCE

The moment when Dorothy exits the house is still pretty wonderful, when everything changes from black and white to colour

BEST LINE

"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore"

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

98%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"An absolute masterpiece whose groundbreaking visuals and deft storytelling are still every bit as resonant, The Wizard of Oz is a must-see film for young and old."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"Young Dorothy Gale and her dog Toto are swept away by a tornado from their Kansas farm to the magical Land of Oz and embark on a quest with three new friends to see the Wizard, who can return her to her home and fulfill the others' wishes."

DIRECTOR

Victor Fleming

MAIN CAST

Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, Margaret Hamilton, Frank Morgan

THOUGHTS

• Well, to the surprise of nobody, an MGM musical from 1939, primarily aimed at kids, is the least thrilling movie that I've reviewed so far, and I will be shocked if anything else challenges it for the title
• I am purposefully giving it 1/10 instead of 0, though, because there are still some thrills to be found, even if they're on the milder side. I thought the tornado effect was really quite convincing, Margaret Hamilton is delightfully evil as the Wicked Witch of the West, and there are other spooky little parts like the trees that throw apples at Dorothy and the Scarecrow, or the attack of the flying monkeys
• And of course, it's only fair to say that a kid might find this way more thrilling and scary, and I might even have found it more heart-pounding if I were watching it for the first time
• I watched a lot of old musicals growing up, and I never really considered The Wizard of Oz to be in the same category, even though it definitely is a musical. Rewatching it this time, I think this is because a lot of the singing and dancing in The Wizard of Oz is based around character and comedy, not so much on sounding nice or looking good. Bert Lahr sounds funny when he's singing as the Cowardly Lion, but he's not really pleasant to listen to. Same goes for the whole Munchkinland sequence. And for the Tin Man's dance sequence, sure, that's how a man made out of tin would probably dance, but it doesn't have the same appeal as a Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire performance
• No issues whatsoever with "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," of course, still a beautiful song. And I loved Ray Bolger's physicality as the Scarecrow. Bolger and Judy Garland reunited 7 years later on a movie called The Harvey Girls, and if you want to see more of him dancing, check out this video
• Loved the costuming and makeup, especially for the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion. And I also loved the backdrops which give the whole movie a very storybook feel
• And that's The Wizard of Oz! I had fun rewatching it, but to be honest I've never really had a soft spot in my heart for it, and I'd definitely be open to arguments for why it might deserve a higher score on the ol' Thrill Scale

Up next: After a couple of more family-friendly movies, we're back to one that definitely wasn't intended for kids. And it's a movie with a sequel that I've already reviewed (glowingly). The Terminator, from 1984. I have seen it before, but I don't remember much about it, and we'll see how it compares to T2: Judgment Day